Photographic equipment cart

ABSTRACT

A cart having two sets of wheels which are interchangeable, one set for another, so that the cart can readily be converted from outdoor use to indoor use and vice versa. The cart is capable of transporting equipment such as that used by a photographer and also providing a steady base for the camera mount. Parts of the cart are foldable and others collapsible for convenience in storing the cart in a confined space.

United States Patent Chin [451 July 18, 1972 [$4] PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENTCART 2,633,363 3/1953 Marshall .;.280/5.26

2,607,396 8/1952 Stambaugh.. [72] Inventor: Sonny B. Chin, 5750 CharlesSt., Burnaby,

7 British Coumbia Canada 2,984,499 5/1961 Humphrey ..280/47.24 X [22]Filed: v Se)L 25 1970 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [21] APPL No:75,354 1,117,175 6/1968 Great Britain ..280/5.26

Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh [52] 11.8. C1, ..280/43.1, 280/4124,280/4724 Assistant Examiner-Leslie J. Paperner [5 1 Int. Cl. .....B62bl/ 10, 362d 61/ 1 2 Anomey--Fetherstonhaugh & Co. [58] Field ofSearch..280/5.26,43,43.l,43.l4,

280/4317, 43.24, 47.17, 47.24, 47.26, 47.27, [57] ABSTRACT 4737 150 A Acan having two sets of wheels which are interchangeable, [56] ReferencesCited one set foranother, so that the cart can readily be converted fromoutdoor use to ll'ldOOl use and vice versa. The can 15 UNITED STATESPATENTS capable of transporting equipment such as that used by aphotographer and also providing a steady base for the camera 2,747,8835/1956 Frost ..280/5.26 mount parts f the can are ld and otherscollapsible f0r 3,041,026 6/1962 WllSOl'l ..280/47.24 X convenience inStoring the can in a fi d spae 3,116,069 12/1963 Dastal .280/47.37 R X2,616,720 11/1952 Knoth ..280/43.l 10 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures PatentedJuly 18, 1972 3,677,573

3 Sheets-Sheet l INVE NTOR SONNY B CHIN AT ORNEYS Patented July 18, 1972v 7 3,677,573

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR SONNY B. cum

Patented July 18, 1972 3,677,573

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR- SONNY B. CHIN AT TOG NEYS PHOTOGRAPHICEQUIPMENT CART My invention relates generally to cartsand moreparticularly to a wheeled mobile camera stand and equipment cart.

A photographer who must leave his studio to go out on a photographicassignment usually is faced with the problem of loading his equipmentinto his car or truck and later transferring the equipment from thevehicle into a home or other building where the photographing is to bedone. Carts presently available for this purpose have a number ofdisadvantages which are strongly objected to by many photographers. Forexample, conventional carts take up a considerable amount of space bythemselves and cannot conveniently be loaded into the luggagecompartments ofsome cars. More importantly, the wheels of any cart canbecome dirtied at some stage of the trip particularly if the weather iswet and the ground muddy. The dirtied wheels either must be cleanedbefore entering the house or the cart must be left at the door whichleaves the photographer without means of moving his equipment about thehouse or supporting his camera in position of use.

I have overcome these and other disadvantages of conventional carts byproviding one which has two sets of wheels. Means are provided on thecart whereby one set of wheels which may have become soiled in transit,can readily by swung out of harm s way while the other clean set ofwheels is swung into a cart-supporting position. All the equipmentnormally needed by a photographer can be carried by the cart which alsoprovides a steady base for supporting the camera during thepicture-taking session. The cart can be folded to reduce the length andcollapsed to shorten the height whereby it will easily frt into thebaggage compartment of even a small car.

In drawings which illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the cart,

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation,

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the cart which is generally indicated by thenumeral 10 is provided with a frame 12 preferably constructed ofaluminum for lightness and strength. Frame 12 includes a platform 14 anda pair of spaced side members 15. The upwardly extending and elongatedside members 15 are cross-connected intermediate their length by ahorizontal bar 16.

Near the platform 14, the side members 15 are fitted with bearings 18and joumalled in these bearings is an axle 19. The opposite ends of axle19 project through the side members 15 and the bearings 18, theseoutwardly projecting axle ends each being fitted with an arm 21 which isspaced a short distance from and extends parallel to the adjacent sidemember. Laterally projecting pairs of spindles 22 and 23 are titted toopposite ends of the arms 21 and rotatably mounted on these spindles arelarge main wheels 24 and small auxiliary wheels 25 respectively.Normally the main wheels 24 engage the surface of the ground to supportthe platform 14 a short distance thereabove and, near the front edge ofsaid platform, a short leg 27 is provided to additionally support theplatform in a horizontal position, at which time the side members 15 aresubstantially vertical.

At times the auxiliary wheels 25 are used to roll the cart rather thanthe normally used main wheels 24 and, in order to swing one pair or theother of wheels into operating position, the cart is provided withchange means 30. As shown, the manually operable change means 30comprises a vertically disposed lever 32 which is located alongside oneof the side members 15. Lever 32 has a horizontal handle 33 at one endand a sleeve 34 at the other end, the sleeve being suitably locked tothe axle 19. By use of the lever 32, the positions of the two pairs ofwheels can be reversed from that shown in the drawings. In other words,when lever 32 is in the solid line position shown in FIG. 2, the largemain wheels are in contact with the ground and support the cart with theassistance of the front leg 27, assuming said cart is stationary. Whenlever 32 is swung to the dotted line position of FIG. 2, the positionsof the wheels 24 and 25 are interchanged as indicated by the dottedlines in FIG. 1.

The lever 32 is adapted to be held in one of the two above describedoperating positions by an upper latch plate 36 which is secured to aside member 15 to project inwardly thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, theupper latch plate 36 has a side notch 37 in which the lever 32 normallyis lodged. A cam face 38 is formed in the plate 36 to lead into thenotch 37 and the lever 32 has sufficient resilience to enable it to bebent inwardly a distance slightly greater than the radius of said camface. When the lever 32 is swung upwardly in a counter clockwisedirection (FIG. 1), the leading edge of said lever engages the cam face38 whereupon the lever is bent inwardly so as to snap into thenotch 37.This locks the lever 32 to the frame 12 with the main wheels 24 incontact with the ground and disposed slightly to the rear of the cart asshown in FIG. 1. The spindles 22 then are opposite the rear edges of theside members 15, the spindles 23 at this time are centered relative tosaid side members, and the arms 21 are inclined forwardly as shown bestin FIG. 1. This arrangement resists any tendency of the cart tooverbalance and fall'rearwardly when fully loaded, the leg 27 preventingthe cart from tilting forward beyond the normally upright position shownin FIG. 1.

A lower latch plate 40, see FIG. 2 only, is provided on the frame 12above the platform 14 and directly below the upper latch plate 36. Sincelatch plate 40 is of the same construction as plate 36 (see particularlyFIG. 3) a detailed description is not considered necessary, the formerlatch plate functioning in the same manner as before to hold the lever32 in its alternative operating position. Lever 32 is adapted to besprung out of engagement with the upper latch plate 36, then swungrearwardly and downwardly through into engagement with the lower latchplate 40, this lever movement normally being executed when the cart istilted forwardly on to the leg 27. Thus, the auxiliary wheels 25 aremoved into the ground engaging position forrnerly occupied by the mainwheels 24. It will be noted that the axle 19 if not centered withrespect to opposite ends of the arms 21, see FIG. 2. This off centerposition of the arms 21 causes the small pair of auxiliary wheels 25 toswing through an arc of a larger radius than the are described by thelarge pair of main wheels 24 whereupon the platform 14 is supported inthe same level position regardless of what wheels are engaging theground.

The cart 10 is designed particularly to carry photographic equipmentincluding a camera 44 which is mounted on a pod 45. This conventionallyconstructed pod 45 is mounted on the cross bar 16 of the frame and thepod is the type which will enable the camera 44 to be raised and loweredas required and also turn in a horizontal plane and tilt in a verticalplane. The camera 44 can be removed from the pod 45 and stored on theplatform 14 along with the lights, batteries, etc., required by aphotographer, this equipment not being shown in the drawings.Preferably, frame 12 is provided with containers or the like, one ofwhich is indicated by the numeral 46 in FIG. 2 and the film holdersandother small items which form part of a photographers equipment arestored in such containers.

The cart 10 is of lightweight but sturdy construction and therefore itis quite a simple matter normally to tilt it forward on to leg 27 sothat the wheels 24 and 25 can interchange by operation of the means 30.However, when the cart is fully loaded with heavy photographers or otherequipment, some difficulty might be experienced in raising the rear ofthe cart and balancing it on the leg 27 and to overcome this difficultyI provide the device with a stand generally indicated at 50. As shown inthe drawings, the stand 50 comprises a pair of transversely spaced legs51 which are carried by a frame member 52 extending between the sidemembers 15 at the rear of the cart, see particularly FIGS. 4 and 5. Thelegs 51 are secured to opposite ends of a rod 54 which is housed withinthe channel member 52. Brackets 55 are provided within the member 52 tojournal the opposite ends of the rod 54 so that said rod is free torotate. Thus the legs 51, which are fixedly mounted on the rod 54, canswing from a horizontal or stored position (FIG. 1 for example) to avertical position of use as shown in FIG. 5, which enable the legs 51 toproject rearwardly (FIG. 1) when in the stored or out-of-the-wayposition. A stout tension spring 58, see FIGS. 2 and 5, encircles therod 54 and one end of this spring is fixed to said rod while theopposite end is hooked under the frame member 52. This spring 58provides means for biasing the stand 50 towards the normally assumedposition wherein the legs 51 are horizontal.

To lower the stand 50, the photographer takes up a position to the rearof the cart and pushes forward on the side members 15 to balance thecart on the leg 27. He then uses one foot to kick the stand 50 down toan operating position where the legs 51 are substantially verticalwhereupon the card is lowered on to be supported entirely by the legs 27and 51. Leg 51 are slightly longer than the legs 27 and therefore thecart will be tilted forwardly with the lowermost set of wheels clear ofthe ground. The operator can there select the wheels he wants to use andswing them into a position just clear of the ground without beingrequired to balance the cart as he does so. Once the selected set ofwheels are in position, the cart is pushed forwardly once again and thespring 58 snaps the legs 51 up to their normal horizontal position. Thecart 10 is then lowered on to the wheels and is ready to roll.

A photographer who is called to a private home to photograph a familygroup for example, can use the cart 10 to carry his equipment indoors.If the main wheels are dirtied during the trip as so often happens, thephotographer simply changes over to the auxiliary wheels 25 just beforehe enters the home. This change-over can be done quickly and easilysimply by tilting the still fully loaded cart 10 forward on the leg 27and using the kick-stand 50 to support the rear of the cart while thelever 32 is operated to substitute the small pair of wheels 25 for thelarge pair of wheels 24. The cart can then be moved over carpets andother areas while rolling along on the clean auxiliary wheels 25 withthe dirty wheels 24 being up out of harrns way. The cart 10 provides asteady support for the camera 44 as the pictures are taken and, at thesame time, the photographer has all his equipment within arm s length.

When a private automobile is used to transport the loaded cart 10 fromplace to place, it may be found that the luggage compartment of the caris not large enough to accommodate such a load but I have overcome thisdifficulty by making the photographic equipment cart so that it isfoldable and collapsible. Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 6, the platform14 will be seen to comprise an inner portion 60 and an outer portion 61which are connected together by hinge means 62 comprising a pair oftransversely extending hinge bolts 63. Portion 60 is fixedly secured tothe side members and portion 61 is adapted to be swung upwardly andrearwardly about the transverse axis of the hinge bolts 63 into contactwith the front edges of the side members 15.

Platform 14 is provided with side plates 65 which are divided byvertically disposed hinges 66 into a fixed inner portion 67 and ahorizontally swingable outer portion 68. The portions 68 of the two sideplates are adapted to be swung inwardly towards each other until theyare positioned alongside the front edges of the side members 15, thisfolding of the side portions being done before the outer portion 61 ofthe platform is folded upwardly as described above. Thus the overalllength of the cart can be reduced to substantially one-half the lengthof the cart in normal position of use.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the numeral 70 indicates generally lockingmeans for securing the platform 14 in the unfolded position. Asillustrated, locking means 70 includes a pair of stops 72 (one onlyshown) which project inwardly from the sides of a U-shaped length ofangle 73 used to form a frame for the portion 61. The stops 73 arespaced a short distance above a deck panel 74 supported by the angle 73.Each stop 73 projects through an opening 75 formed in the adjacent sideplate 65 so as to engage a bottom part 77 thereof. The outer portion 61of the platform and the side plates 65 are prevented from separatingvertically by means of the stops 72.

In order to releasably secure the portions 68 side plates to theplatform 14, the locking means 70 is provided with a pair of latch pins80, one only being shown in FIG. 5. Each of the vertically movable latchpins 80 is mounted in a bracket 81 carried by a side plate 68. A collar82 is fitted to the pin 80 and a spring 83 is interposed between saidcollar and the bracket 81 to urge the pin downwardly. Openings 85 and 86are provided in the portions 63 of the side plates and the platformportion 61 respectively and, when these openings are vertically aligned,the pin 80 is snapped into the aligned openings to lock the side plates65 to the platform 16.

The side members 15 each comprise a pair of lower posts 90 and a pair ofupper posts 91 which are telescoped together as shown best in FIG. 1.The upper posts 91 are connected by a bend which forms a U-shaped handle93. Catch means generally indicated at 95 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is providedfor securing the upper posts of each side member 15 in the extendedposition. The lower end of one upper post 91 of each side member isfitted with a leaf-spring 96 which carries a catch button 97, theseparts comprising the catch means 95. This catch button 97 is adaptedto-project through horizontally aligned openings 98 and 99 (FIG. 1)formed in the telescoping posts when the side members are fullyextended. To collapse the side members 15, the catch buttons 97 arepressed inwardly whereupon the upper posts 91 can be telescoped into thelower posts 90. When the handles 93 are positioned immediately above thecrossbar 16, it will be found that the height of the cart 10 has beenreduced by approximately one-half. v

From the foregoing, it will be apparent I have provided a cart which isextremely useful to a photographer required to leave his studio on aphotographic assignment with all the necessary equipment for the job.Hitherto, much of this equipment was carried by the photographer atleast at some stages of the trip and this heavy work has been eliminatedby the present cart. The readily foldable cart provides the camera witha perfectly steady base which can be wheeled about to any requiredposition all the usual camera attachments and the like are stored on thecart at the photographers finger tips. Since the cart has dual sets ofwheels, it can be used outdoors and later converted so that it can bemoved indoors without danger of soiling rugs or other floor coverings.

What is claimed is:

1. A cart for transporting photographic equipment or the like comprisinga frame having a platform and side members, an axle rotatably mounted inthe frame near the platform and having opposite ends projectinglaterally of the side members, an arm secured to each opposite end ofthe axle for swinging movement in a vertical plane, a first and secondpair of spindles mounted on opposite ends of the arms, a pair of mainwheels joumalled on the first pair of spindles, a pair of auxiliarywheels joumalled on the second pair of spindles, manually operablechange means for rotating the axle whereby to selectively swing the mainwheels or the auxiliary wheels into cart supporting engagement with thesurface of .the ground, first latch means for securing the manuallyoperable change means to the frame with the main wheels in contact withthe ground, and second latch means for securing the manually operablechange means to the frame with the auxiliary wheels in contact with theground.

2. A cart for transporting photographic equipment or the like comprisinga frame having a platform and side members, an axle rotatably mounted inthe frame near the platform and having opposite ends projectinglaterally of the side members, an arm secured to each opposite end ofthe axle for swinging movement in a vertical plane, a first and a secondpair of spindles mounted on opposite ends of the arms, a pair of mainwheels joumalled on the first pair of spindles, a pair of auxiliarywheels joumalled on the second pair of spindles, manually operablechange means for rotating the axle whereby to selectively swing the mainwheels or the auxiliary wheels into cart supporting engagement with thesurface of the ground, and a stand mounted on the frame for movement toa ground engaging position whereby to support said frame elevated abovethe surface of the ground a distance greater than the maximum arc ofswing of the main and auxiliary wheels.

3. A cart as claimed in claim 2, and including hinge means for foldingthe platform substantially into parallelism with the side members.

4. A cart as claimed in claim 3,- and including locking means forsecuring the platform in the unfolded position.

S. A cart as claimed in claim 2, in which said side members eachcomprise upper and lower posts, and catch means for securing the upperposts of each side member in the extended position.

6. A cart as claimed in claim 2, in which said manually operable changemeans includes a lever having two operating positions, and a latch platecarried by the frame for engagement by the lever in each operatingposition.

7. A cart for transporting photographic equipment or the like comprisinga platform and side members, a leg on the platform near the forward edgethereof, an axle rotatably mounted in the frame near the rearward edgeof the platform auxiliary wheels journalled on the second pair ofspindles, a lever secured to the axle for swinging either the main orauxiliary wheels into a ground engaging position, a first latch platecarried by the frame for engagement by the lever when the main wheelsare in ground-engaging position, and a second latch plate carried by theframe for engagement by the lever when the auxiliary wheels are inground-engaging position.

8. A cart as claimed in claim 7, and including a stand mounted on theframe for movement between a stored position and a position of use, andspring means biasing the stand towards the stored position.

9. A cart as claimed in claim 7, in which said platform comprises aninner portion and an outer portion hingedly connected together wherebysaid outer portion is swingable about a transverse axis to asubstantially upright position, side plates carried by the frame aboveon the platform and having inner and outer portions hingedly connectedtogether whereby said outer portions are swingable about vertical axesto folded positions alongside the platform outer portion in the uprightposition, and locking means for securing the outer portions of the sideplates to the platform outer portion.

10. A cart as claimed in claim 9, in which said side members eachcomprise telescoping upper and lower posts, and catch means for securingthe upper posts of each side member in the extended position.

1. A cart for transporting photographic equipment or the like comprisinga frame having a platform and side members, an axle rotatably mounted inthe frame near the platform and having opposite ends projectinglaterally of the side members, an arm secured to each opposite end ofthe axle for swinging movement in a vertical plane, a first and secondpair of spindles mounted on opposite ends of the arms, a pair of mainwheels journalled on the first pair of spindles, a pair of auxiliarywheels journalled on the second pair of spindles, manually operablechange means for rotating the axle whereby to selectively swing the mainwheels or the auxiliary wheels into cart supporting engagement with thesurface of the ground, first latch means for securing the manuallyoperable change means to the frame with the main wheels in contact withthe ground, and second latch means for securing the manually operablechange means to the frame with the auxiliary wheels in contact with theground.
 2. A cart for transporting photographic equipment or the likecomprising a frame having a platform and side members, an axle rotatablymounted in the frame near the platform and having opposite endsprojecting laterally of the side members, an arm secured to eachopposite end of the axle for swinging movement in a vertical plane, afirst and a second pair of spindles mounted on opposite ends of thearms, a pair of main wheels journalled on the first pair of spindles, apair of auxiliary wheels journalled on the second pair of spindles,manually operable change means for rotating the axle whereby toselectively swing the main wheels or the auxiliary wheels into cartsupporting engagement with the surface of the ground, and a standmounted on the frame for movement to a ground engaging position wherebyto support said frame elevated above the surface of the ground adistance greater than the maximum arc of swing of the main and auxiliarywheels.
 3. A cart as claimed in claim 2, and including hinge means forfolding the platform substantially into parallelism with the sidemembers.
 4. A cart as claimed in claim 3, and including locking meansfor securing the platform in the unfolded position.
 5. A cart as claimedin claim 2, in which said side members each comprise upper and lowerposts, and catch means for securing the upper posts of each side memberin the extended position.
 6. A cart as claimed in claim 2, in which saidmanually operable change means includes a lever having two operatingpositions, and a latch plate carried by the frame for engagement by thelever in each operating position.
 7. A cart for transportingphotographic equipment or the like comprising a platform and sidemembers, a leg on the platform near the forward edge thereof, an axlerotatably mounted in the frame near the rearward edge of the platformand having opposite ends projecting laterally of the side members, anarm secured to each opposite end of the axle for swinging movement in avertical plane, a first and a second pair of spindles mounted onopposite ends of the arms, a pair of main wheels journalled on the firstpair of spindles, a pair of auxiliary wheels journalled on the secondpair of spindles, a lever secured to the axle for swinging either themain or auxiliary wheeLs into a ground engaging position, a first latchplate carried by the frame for engagement by the lever when the mainwheels are in ground-engaging position, and a second latch plate carriedby the frame for engagement by the lever when the auxiliary wheels arein ground-engaging position.
 8. A cart as claimed in claim 7, andincluding a stand mounted on the frame for movement between a storedposition and a position of use, and spring means biasing the standtowards the stored position.
 9. A cart as claimed in claim 7, in whichsaid platform comprises an inner portion and an outer portion hingedlyconnected together whereby said outer portion is swingable about atransverse axis to a substantially upright position, side plates carriedby the frame above on the platform and having inner and outer portionshingedly connected together whereby said outer portions are swingableabout vertical axes to folded positions alongside the platform outerportion in the upright position, and locking means for securing theouter portions of the side plates to the platform outer portion.
 10. Acart as claimed in claim 9, in which said side members each comprisetelescoping upper and lower posts, and catch means for securing theupper posts of each side member in the extended position.